County news: Champions League coming to Sussex

Top class darts will return to Sussex in September following confirmation that the BBC-televised Champions League of Darts is to be hosted at The Brighton Centre.

The Brighton Centre has been a popular calling point for the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) since first staging the Premier League in 2007, with sell-out nights giving fans across the south-east the chance to see the sport’s leading players live.

The introduction of Berlin to the Premier League schedule in 2018 saw Brighton replaced for that event, but the PDC will now be taking the Champions League of Darts to the venue on September 22-23.

The eight-player tournament sees two groups of four facing off across the opening three sessions, with a double session on Saturday September 22 followed by the afternoon session on Sunday September 23.

The top two players from each group then progress to the semi-finals and final on the Sunday evening.

The field of eight players for the 2018 Champions League of Darts will be confirmed at the end of July, with reigning champion Mensur Suljovic to be joined by the top seven non-qualified players from the PDC Order of Merit - set to include world number one Michael van Gerwen and new world champion Rob Cross.

“The Champions League of Darts has become a hugely popular event since being introduced to the circuit two years ago,” said PDC chairman Barry Hearn.

“The concept of the world’s top eight players facing off over one weekend is one which works perfectly for BBC Sport, and we feel that The Brighton Centre is an ideal venue to host the Champions League of Darts.

“With the Premier League’s growth seeing Brighton replaced on that circuit, we remained committed to taking a televised PDC event to the south coast and we’re delighted for this to be this year’s Champions League of Darts.”

Cross, who lives in St Leonards, will get the chance to step out on his “home” stage in the 2018 Champions League of Darts, while 2017 World Grand Prix winner Daryl Gurney is also set to make his debut in the event.

They are set to join reigning champion Suljovic, world number one van Gerwen and Scottish duo Peter Wright and Gary Anderson, while the world’s top eight also currently features Dave Chisnall and Simon Whitlock.

Tickets for the Champions League of Darts will go on priority sale to PDCTV-HD Annual Subscribers on Monday March 19 (10am), and on general sale on Wednesday March 21 (10am).

To be eligible for the priority sale period, fans must have an active PDCTV-HD Annual Subscription at midday on Wednesday March 14.